The Last Variable
by lovewords
Summary: Aria wakes up in the Glade just like every other Greenie. She seems to settle in perfectly after a month, but when Thomas arrives and another girl triggers The Ending, is she going to be able to make it out of the Maze? Can she fight her way out with her new friends or will the final variable change everything? And being surrounded by boys all day, catching feelings will be easy...
1. The New Greenie

**DISCLAIMER: I DO** _ **NOT**_ **OWN THE MAZE RUNNER.**

 **The New Greenie**

It was dark.

Darkness all around her.

She couldn't seem to catch her breath as the darkness crept down her lungs and suffocated her. She closed her eyes tight and pressed her back against the cool metal.

She felt around with her hands and then edged herself into a corner.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to stifle the panic that was rising in her.

Where was she?

She was in a box.

Who was she?

 _Aria_.

She didn't know how she knew it, but it was true. The name echoed around in her head and she suddenly wanted to scream it. Shout it out into the darkness. The overwhelming urge to cry out grew to an unbearable amount and her lips parted, but nothing came out. She curled up into herself wishing she could sink into the floor. Have it melt over her skin and swallow her whole. Her mouth hung open slightly as she sat staring into the dark. Creaking and groaning against the metal chains lifting her towards what could only be her captors.

The box raised upward and then nothing.

It stopped. Cages and crates rattled around her and she brought her hands to her ears.

What was happening? Scream. She wanted to scream.

White light.

Suddenly the top of the box became bright and blinding. Aria ducked her head low and squeezed her eyes tight shut again. This was it. This was the end. It was a bright light and she couldn't remember…

"Hello?" Aria's head snapped up again. Voices? She scrabbled to her feet and towards the light

"Shucking-"

"What do you see?"

"Dude, am I hallucinating or…"

"No, Clint you're not-"

"Then…"

"It's- it's a girl."

That's when the voices above seemed to loose control.

"What?"

"Let me see!"

"I call dibs!"

"Shut it slintheads!" a voice boomed and Aria's heart rate seemed to pick up as her vision cleared and she saw dozens of faces peering down at her. Eyes and lips and mouths. Boy after boy after boy.

"You okay down there Greenie?" She just stared up at them. She couldn't _remember_ …

"We're going to send down a rope and host you up." He said and she only stood there "Get it?" he asked to make sure she understood. Aria was frozen for a moment longer before she managed a nod. The boy's dark face disappeared and the rope dropped down. Aria stared at it for some reason reluctant to touch it. Then:

"Hurry it up down there, Greenbean! We ain't got all day!" She grabbed it and was dragged up. Once she was close enough, hands reached down and grabbed at her shirt pulling her up faster. She scrambled up to her feet and backed away from the faces. So many faces. Her eyes scanned the crowd. She could see boys, all of them seeming to be in their teens or there about. She spun in a circle though, her eyes searching for something familiar or… female. There was no other girl in sight.

No girl. Not _one girl._

"Welcome, Greenie." the dark skinned boy was tall and muscular, he looked down at her with an intense gaze and she felt small. She was small. All the boys thoughts so. She was also the most beautiful girl they had ever seen since, well she was the only girl they could ever remember meeting. Aria looked away from him and towards the open doors or the metal contraption. She _had_ been in a box.

They must have put her in the box.

They must have done this.

They took her.

They took her from...

 _From where?_ She thought.

 _From where I belong._

Her lips parted again and this time she spoke

"You-" her voice was deeper than she expected, scratchy and chapped sounding, "You did this to me!" she yelled and it was like the words cleared her lungs. They opened and oxygen flew in. They gasped at the fresh air her hands flying to her chest.

She spun around and the circle boys that had formed widened as they backed away to give her space.

"Calm now, Greenie, we know you must-"

"You! You all! Where am I? What happened?" she shouted her knees shaking and threatening to give out from underneath her.

"Slim it Gree-"

"Where! Slim what? Where am I? "

"I'll answer if you calm down." Aria backed away and bumped into someone, she jumped and let out a gasp

"No!" she screamed her eyes suddenly burning, stinging and her shoulders shaking. She couldn't think straight- she couldn't-

"Whoa there, Greenie, don't need ya' falling back into the box." The boy said gently taking her shoulders and guiding her away from the open box. Aria looked at him then back at the hole where she had been about to drop back into. Back to the boy. He had tussled blonde hair and his brown eyes were glued to her's. There was a small curve of his lips as he smirked at her amused slightly. She stared at him for a few moments, not sure what to do. His hands were still on her shoulders and she daren't move away. A voice cleared and the boy looked away from her. The dark skinned boy took a step forward

"Name's Alby, leader of the Gladers." He said proudly and sticking out a hand for Aria to shake. Her eyes just flicked down to it and then back to his face. When she made no move to take it he sighed and dropped his arm.

"W-what Gladers?" she asked hesitantly and Alby smiled slightly

"That's what we call ourselves." He gestures to the boys around him.

Aria tried searching for the right questions to ask, but her mind was swarming with so many.

"I don't… I can't remember…" she said slowly and painfully as she closed her eyes tight and tried to focus on anything that she could. Even her name kept slipping away from her.

"It's okay, none of us here can." She opened her eyes again at that. She didn't believe them. They knew something. They had put her there. He was a liar.

"I- I want to leave." She said and he let out a laugh

"Get in line, Greenie." He said and she whimpered, not caring if she sounded weak in front of them right now.

"Please I- I don't want to be here! Send me back!" she shouted spinning around again and slamming into someone's chest.

The boy wrapped his arms around her. She immediately hit his chest with her hand to try and break away, but he didn't budge.

"Let me go!" she yelled into his shirt, but he didn't. A sob escaped her throat as she finally gave in to her weak knees and leaned into him, clinging to his shirt like her life depended on it. Her body wracked with sobs and tears streamed down her face,

"No, no please, no!" she tightened her grip on the soft fabric of the boys shirt "Send me back! Please! Send me back! No!" Aria pulled and pushed not knowing whether she should let go or cling onto him forever. She knew she seemed crazy. SHe must, but she couldn't stop the words now they were coming. The boy seemed to make the decision for her and gently pried her off of him. She saw his face for the first time and recognized his brown eyes and shaggy blond hair from before. He gave her a smile of sorts and she shook away from him.

"Tell me what happened!"

Alby sighed and shook his head

"I can't tell you anything if you don't slim it." He said harshly and she shut her mouth. He let out a sigh of relief and his shoulders visibly relaxed

"Good that. Now, welcome to the Glade, Greenie. Home swee' home." Aria shook her head and looked around trying to regain her breath.

No. This couldn't be right.

No this couldn't be.

It couldn't.

Be.

Right.

He was lying. This wasn't her home. She wasn't where she was meant to be. This was a mistake. He was a liar. He was a _liar_.

"Liar." She whispered through gritted teeth as she narrowed her eyes at the Alby. His face shifted into a look of annoyance. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but was holding back.

The blonde boy must have seen his friends growing annoyance and stepped forward Aria was almost relieved when he spoke. She didn't like Alby that much.

"We know you must be a tad… disoriented," he said holding his hands out slightly as though she was some kind of rabid animal. When she didn't answer he took it as his cue to continue. He looked around for some support, but then cleared his throat.

"That's totally normal-"

"I can't remember anything." Aria cut him off, to repeat herself again. Her voice was quiet and meek and, the boy's demeanor softened.

"I know," he said softly looking into her moistening eyes "Can you tell us your name?" _My name?_ She gazed at him for a moment, his eyebrows raised and a small encouraging smile on his face

"A-Aria. My name is Aria." She said slowly and the boy immediately broke out into a grin as the boys around her let out whistles and hoots of congratulations. She couldn't stop the smile that broke out onto her face. It probably looked awkward and out of place with her red eyes and blotchy cheeks.

"Aria." The boy said stepping forward and raising her arm into the air "Aria!" he shouted and the cheers only grew louder. She bit her lip and dropped her gaze to ground. The boy seemed to sense her sudden un-comfortableness and let her arm go. She took a step back and wrung her fingers together. She could feel all their eyes on her. She couldn't feel their stares and they were burning her skin and lighting her on fire. She couldn't seem to get the panic in her to go away anymore. It was rising again, bubbling up through her esophagus and choking her.

"Alright then, Greenie lets get-"

Aria didn't want to know though. She didn't want to be there. She spotted a gap between two boys and sprinted towards it.

She had to get out. She had to see for herself- know for _herself_ that there was no escape. The boys seemed to spring back and make way for her as she headed towards the small gap that quickly turned into a clear exit. She ran out a few feet into open grass and stopped short. All around her.

Walls.

They stretched up into the sky tall and were covered in green ivy. She dropped to her knees and her lip began to quiver again. The tears came and her hands dropped into the grass.

"No…" she whispered. A hand was on her shoulder and then she was being lifted, picked up by someone. Carried. And she did nothing.

Except cry.

* * *

Aria woke with a start. Sitting straight up and gasping for breath. She had her hands clutching at her chest as it rose and fell rapidly.

She felt sticky and sweaty; her hair clung to the sides of her face and her shirt stuck to her back. She swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut.

It was awful. She had the worst dream.

Her head was pounding.

Beating in her skill.

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

She opened her eyes again and scanned the room. It was small and bare. The walls were empty, except for a small window opposite her. There was a night table to her left, as she realized she was on some kind of bed, with a lamp on it and a glass of water. She reached for it and sucked its contents down her throat. The liquid was lukewarm as though it been sat there for a while, but she didn't care, her mouth and lips felt so dry.

 _Boom. Thump._

Her breaths steadied and her shaking hands slowed down.

 _Boom. Thump. Boom._

She was fine.

 _Thump._

She was safe.

 _Boom._

She was here.

Where exactly _was_ here?

She studied the room again and found she was alone. Her eyes landed on a door. She slipped out from the thin sheet she had been tucked in and made her way towards it, to her surprise the door opened with little complaint and let out a low creak as it came towards her.

The hallway on the other side was also empty. The chair next to the door. Empty.

Not knowing what else do to, Aria started down the hall.

Was she alone in this place? Was she dreaming? Was all this even real?

Suddenly she heard voices, muffled and deep as she approached a rickety staircase leading down. There was dim, grey light coming from the lower ground floor.

If there where people here then maybe they could help her.

She slowly descended, trying to keep her steps light. The voices grew louder and she was able to make out what they were saying.

"A _girl_ Greenie? What are those slintheads playing at?"

"I don't know, maybe we'll be getting girls from now on?"

"Man I hope so," an eager voice spoke up and there was a chuckle

"Yeah well the question is what do we do with her _now_?"

"How the hell do we deal with shuck girl Greenie?"

"Bloody hell though, she really made an entrance." His voice was slightly different and stood out from the others. There was another chuckle

"Yeah well with that hair…"

"And those legs…"

Aria looked down at her legs, brown pants that stopped just below her knees covered them. Her hair was a golden blonde mess. It's soft waves tangled and down around her shoulders. She quickly ran her fingers through it and the knots came out easily.

"You couldn't even see her legs, shuck face."

"I didn't have to-"

Aria could make out a few different voices now, but it was hard to tell really.

They sounded familiar…

Where was she again?

Suddenly she remember. She remembered the box and the boys and her break down. She hurried down the last few steps and out from her hiding place. There she saw the faces that belonged to the voices.

There were four boys stood there, leaning against the walls, one perched on the edge of a table. Their eyes turned to her as she entered and they widened. All of them jumped up from their slouched positions and turned to face her.

Aria took a deep breath and calmed herself. She wasn't going to flip out like she did earlier.

"You're up." One of the boys said stating 'observantly'.

"Obviously." She said not meaning to put such harsh bite to the word which caused the boys to glance between each other nervously. The boy from earlier, Alby, stepped forward.

"Good to see you awake, Greenie. Quite the show you put on back there. Thought you were going to sleep 'ill tomorrow."

"How long was I… out for?" she asked trying to keep her voice strong. The boy shrugged

"I don't know… two? Maybe three hours?" Three hours? It didn't seem that long. She nodded. Aria cleared her throat.

"I want to know where I am." She demanded and Alby grinned

"Like I said earlier, you're in the Glade. I'll give you the full tour later." She narrowed her eyes at him as silence took over the room. Her eyes flickered to the door behind them. A boy seemed to catch on and stepped in front of it.

"Now, now Greenie… just calm down." He said holding out his hands. His brown hair was messy and tossed up at strange angles. It would be almost humorous if it were any other situation.

"I am calm." She stated, folding her arms across her chest "I'm not screaming anymore am I?" The boys exchanged uneasy looks again and Aria let out a huff. "And it's _Aria_ not _Greenie._ " The boy smirked at her and shrugged. She glared at him. "Maybe I'll call _you_ Greenie." She said and he let out a chuckle,

"Not how it works, Greenbean. Only the Newbies get that title. You can call me Theo." She rolled her eyes when he sent her a wink. UNder normal circumstances she would have blushed, but for some reasons those emotions were supressed for the moment.

"I want to go outside." She said turning her attention back to Alby. They all looked at her. They looked at her as though they had never seen a girl before.

"What are you staring at? Do I have three heads?" A few cracked grin. Aria recognized the blonde boy from earlier. The one who she cried on. He was smirking at her amusedly. She quickly averted her eyes when she recalled her embarrassing moment. She raised her eyebrow expectantly at the brown haired boy, _Theo_ who was staring the most blatantly now.

"No… its just… you're a… girl." Aria felt a smile tug on her lips.

"No shit." She said with smirk, though it faltered after a second. She _was_ a girl right? She couldn't really see her face. It _was_ obvious right? She opened her mouth hesitantly and lowered her arms.

"I- I do look like a girl right?" she asked the boy and he chuckled.

"Yeah, you look like a girl," his eyes dipped down her body, giving it a once over for a moment "Don't worry." She sighed mentally in relief.

Silence took over the room again.

"Shuck it- how do we deal with a girl Greenie? Newt?" The blonde from earlier, _Newt_ raised his hands in defense and shook his head.

"Don't look at me Alby, how the hell should I know?" He looked from Alby and then back to Aria an entertained glint in his eyes. _What is up with him? Was there something funny about me? Did I have something on face?_ The sudden urge to find a mirror came over her. She couldn't remember what she looked like. She shifted uncomfortably under the boys' stares.

"Any- anyone ever teach you it was rude to stare?" she asked raising an eyebrow and all the boys seemed to shuffle in embarrassment.

"Sorry- we just- we've never seen a girl before." Aria's eyes rose upwards in surprise. _What? Were there really no girls here?_ She had thought that she might have missed them earlier,

"W-what?" Newt smirked

"You're the only girl in Glade, Greenie." He said. She decided to ignore him calling her that for the moment and her mouth dropped open.

" _No._ " Was all she could say. Alby rolled his eyes

"Not back to that again are we?" Aria's eyes snapped to him

"No." she defended, but then blushed when she realized what she had done.

"I think… we start with the tour?" Alby was trying to keep the authority in his voice, but his statement still came out as a question and his eyebrow rose slightly as he looked at Aria. She couldn't help but allow a small smile to lift her lips and her seemingly lightened mood made the boys faces relax slightly.

"Sounds like a good place to start." She said with a shrug. Alby clapped his hands together

"Right then Greenie, lets go." He turned on his heel and started for the door. Aria's mouth hung open for a moment as she watched him walk outside and into the light. She looked at the other boys before finally snapping her lips shut and following him outside.

"Enjoy yourself Greenie!" she heard a British accent shout. Her face heated up for a second when she turned her head to see _Newt_ had his eyes on her.

If she thought a certain pair of brown eyes made her blush then she was in for a shock when she stepped out of the wooden building and back into the Glade.

 **A/N- THERE IS THE FIRST CHAPTER OF MY NEW STORY!**

 **PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IN A REVIEW! FAVORITE AND FOLLOW IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT! ;)**

 **I'LL UPDATE IN A WEEKLY SCHEDULE, BUT IF I GET 5 REVIEWS I MIGHT UPDATE EARLY!**

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!**

 **I HOPE YOU ARE "ALL BLOODY INSPIRED"!**


	2. The Tour

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE MAZE RUNNER**

 **The Tour**

It seemed as if she had a bright neon sign that light up when she stepped foot on the grass because she suddenly found over 30 pairs of eyes on her.

She froze for a moment, but Alby kept moving and heading towards the middle of the grassy field. Aria yanked herself back to the present and darted after the leader of the Gladers. It took a few moments to catch up to him. Her short legs were nothing compared to his long and effortless strides. She practically had to jog next to him.

His gaze was fixed straight ahead as they walked in silence, Only Aria's heavy breaths coming out at the sudden effort to run.

She could feel the pounding in her head coming back again.

 _Boom._

 _Thump._

 _Boom._

She winced, but Alby didn't notice.

Suddenly he came to a stop, causing Aria to almost knock into him.

 _Thump._

"Okay, so this is the Glade, home of the Gladers." Aria opened her mouth to ask what exactly the Glade _was_ , when Alby held up a hand.

"No questions till the end, Greenie. I don't need ya yappin' in my ear the 'hole time." He snapped.

Aria clamped her mouth shut trying to bite back her annoyance. _Aria._ She hissed in her head. She hadn't gone through the trouble of remembering her name for them to completely disregard it. It was the only thing she could remember about herself and they wouldn't even give her that.

She had questions too, of course she did. What was wrong with wanting answers? She was dragged out of a metal box, with no memory of who she was, barley holding onto her name and into a giant pen full of teenage boys! She _had questions_!

Then before she could pull herself out of her head Alby was striding off again. She let out gust of air before heading after him.

As she realized they were heading towards the box her eagerness for the tour waned slightly.

The urge to stay as far away from the contraption growing with every step, but she resisted the feeling to turn and run in the opposite direction, perhaps through one of the massive gaps in the walls.

Alby stopped again right next to _it_ and turned to see Aria still taking a few steps to reach him.

"This is the Box. Brings us supplies every week and a new Greenie once a month." He pressed his lips in a thin line, thinking.

He nodded when it came to him

"Oh- remind me to give you your create. Came up with you, full o' stuff…" he mumbled and Aria nodded her head, perking up at the thought of things just for her.

She didn't have much time to think about a brush and pads before Alby was gone. Her bubble of excitement gone.

He was moving.

Moving.

Again.

She let out a frustrated groan before jogging after him again.

"Could you-" She started to ask him to slow down but he held up a hand as they headed towards a reddish brown building.

"Questions at the end." He said without even looking her way.

What she didn't know was that the effort _not_ to was great because he like every Glader couldn't believe that she was in fact a _girl._

"The Glade is split into four sections," he said "The Gardens, Homestead, Blood House, Deadheads." He said looking over his shoulder at her

"Got it?" he asked and she nodded

"Which is which-"

"Slim it, Greenie. Let me finish and you might get your shucking answer." He snapped.

"This 'ears the Blood House. It's where we keep the animals and slaughter 'em," He smirked "The _bloody_ _stuff._ " He said. She smirked at him

"Creative name." she said and his smirk dropped.

"Great, another smart shuck to deal with." He mumbled and Aria quirked an eyebrow.

"Only get peace when the shank's in the Maze and now got another ear-sore."

"Maze?-" Alby let out a gruff groan and shook his head.

Aria peered around him at the building and the animals outside it. There were boys coming in and out with bags of feed and metal buckets full of bones.

Most of them paused to stare at her, squinting against the sun that was to her back and in their eyes.

She felt uncomfortable with all their eyes on her.

She was afraid the panic would come again.

Though it wouldn't.

Her worrying about it doing so was almost as bad though. This time Alby's retreating figure gave her slight relief.

 _Anything to get away from their eyes._

"This is the Homestead, obviously." He said gesturing to the building they had come out of earlier. "Its where we sleep and go in our free time. S'where the Keepers sleep and the Med-jacks work." He paused.

 _Med-jack's?_ The more Alby explained the more questions she had.

Aria frowned at the precarious structure in front of her. It looked as though a gust of wind might knock it over. Alby almost chuckled at her grimace, but hid it before her eyes settled on his face again.

"Don't worry, it's been sturdy for years. No need to worry."

"You build it?" She asked forgetting the no questions till the end rule. Alby crossed his arms over his chest and gave her stern look. She mouthed the word 'sorry', but he decided to answer her anyway.

"Of course not, shuck face. Was here when we arrived."

And just like that more questions popped into her head.

It was so full.

So full.

 _Full._

Yet it was empty.

 _Empty._

She tried to reach into her mind, but only found a black abyss that held nothing.

 _Empty._

 _Empty._

 _EMPTY._

"Try to keep up, Greenie!" Alby shouted and Aria had to leave her empty mind behind. "Over 'ere we got the Gardens, grows all the plants and fruit we need. Water flows through pipes under the ground. Don't ask 'ow, we don't know." He then turned on his heal and gestured to the area of the Glade covered in trees.

They grew denser the further in you went.

The sun couldn't reach back there.

It was dark.

Like her mind.

 _Empty._

"W-what's in there?" Aria asked pulling her gaze away from the trees and back to the tall, muscular boy. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask 'really?'

She swallowed hard.

"Where the dead are…" she whispered and flickered her eyes back to the forest. Alby pressed his lips together again.

"Got a brain after all, Greenie."

Aria ignored him.

"Can ask questions now?" she said instead, but to her annoyance Alby shook his head.

"No."

"What? Why?"

"Not finished." He stated, but made no move to go anywhere. Aria shook head confused.

"What else is there?"

"The Baggers', Slicers, Track-hoes, Builders and Runners." Alby stated, "Med-jacks and Cooks too." That's when she understood. He was telling her about the _jobs_ the Gladers had.

"Everyone does their roll 'round 'ere, Greenie. One of the three rules." He said.

"What are the others?"

"Do your part. Don't harm another Glader," he paused "And don't _ever_ go into the Maze."

Aria's eyes widened as he stepped to the side and she found herself staring through one of the large openings. She had almost forgot about them.

Her mouth hung open as she stared out.

"The Maze." Alby repeated "Surrounds the whole place. Complicated twists and turns that we've been trying to map for years."

 _Years?_

"How long-" Aria's questions caught in her throat. She was almost afraid to here the answer "How long have you been here?"

"Two years, 11 months today." Aria stood shell shocked at the boy's answer.

"And you've never found an exit?" she asked. He shook his head.

"The shucking thing changes every night."

"Changes?" she asked and he nodded grimly.

"The walls move every night. Never the same two days in a row."

At that Aria almost scoffed.

Now he was pulling her leg.

"Those walls _move_?" she asked almost amused.

Alby, however, didn't crack a grin.

"Yes." He said and Aria's smile fell when she said

"I'll believe it when I see it." She glanced back into the dark, ivy-covered corridor.

She almost shivered.

Okay.

She _did_ shiver.

"W-what about the Runners?" she asked and Alby gave a curt nod.

"They're the ones who map the damn thing. Only ones allowed out there, Greenie. We're on the safe side too, so don't try anything stupid." He said narrowing his eyes. Aria forced her eyes away from the Maze and nodded. Alby seemed please with that response.

"You'll start your job trials tomorrow. See what job suits you best."

Aria nodded again.

"You can start out in the Gardens I think?"

Aria nodded.

"Good that."

She wrung her hands together at the cold thought that entered her mind.

"When do I- try out as a Runner?" she asked and Alby blinked at her. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"You don't." and with that he turned and left her standing there alone. "Go get something to eat." He said over his shoulder leaving a mind blown Aria in his wake.

* * *

So that was that. Aria was left to soak it in and process it all on her own.

 _By herself._

She didn't even have the energy to shout after Alby and ask him _where_ exactly she could get something to eat. She just turned away from his tall frame that was headed towards some staring boys and yelling at them to get back to work.

She looked back at the doorway to the Maze.

These walls.

The very walls that had panicked her when she broke out of the box.

Alby was trying to tell her they _moved._

12ft thick, solid concrete walls were apparently going to move and shift that night. She shook her head.

No. Way.

The information she had just received was a lot.

Aria realized with reluctance that Alby was right to keep a few things from her. She didn't know if she would have been able to handle anymore than what she knew at the moment.

At least for now.

Not that she would admit it.

The last thing the boys needed was another show of her weakness. Her breakdown was enough for herself away from the Maze she began to scan the area for lunch.

 _Shame there are no pubs or restaurants or cafes here._

She thought. Aria realized that she remembered those things.

Or rather she remembered remembering those places.

The more she tried to search for a specific restaurant or café the more the image grew blurry. She pushed away the stinging in her eyes that suddenly took them over and took in a deep breath. Her stomach growled and with a bitter humors smile she realized she couldn't remember when the last time she ate was either.

Quite literally she meant it and not in a figurative way.

"Curse you Alby." She whispered to herself for him not telling her where to go.

Her heart lifted when she saw a boy walking out of the Homestead with a plate and a sandwich and then head for his friends that were seated on one of the picnic benches by the Deadheads.

Ignoring the stares directed at her she quickly headed towards the door. The voices were considerably louder than before her tour and she figured that lunchtime must have rolled around for the Gladers. Would that make it 1 o'clock?

The Gladers.

It was weird to say that. She wasn't sure if she had forgotten a partial section of the English vocabulary or if these boys had just made some… "shuck" words up. Whatever _that_ meant.

She followed the voices in the Homestead. Her eyes widening when she saw the large room full of boys.

There were tables of them sat around, joking and laughing with each other. A long line of them against the right wall waiting for food. Of course she wasn't prepared when the room fell into a heavy silence.

She should have been.

But she wasn't.

Eyes.

Eyes on her.

She never would have thought that it was possible to silence so many boys so quickly.

Doubted even Alby could have done it.

The boys could only stare.

At her hair.

Her legs.

Her face.

Her eyes.

She was beautiful.

They could tell.

They'd never seen a _beautiful_ person before.

But they knew all the same that this was one.

They were sure they had gotten the most beautiful girl left on earth.

Probably why they sent her.

"Bloody hell you ain' got all day, shucks. Eat!" Aria let out a breath of relief as Newt entered the room. The boys suddenly all looked away and the whispers started.

Aria rung her hands together and bit her lip as she turned to look at the blonde boy. He was smiling brightly, his warm brown eyes almost sparkling, but they flicked down to her lips and he looked towards the line of boys waiting for food. He cleared his throat.

"Right, Greenie got the tour I'm guessing?" he asked and she nodded

"Yeah if you could call it that." She mumbled blowing a strain of hair from her face. His lips quirked upwards as he remembered watching her running around the Glade after Alby.

Aria glanced to the line of boys and then back at Newt.

"Should I, er… get on line?" she asked jerking her head at it.

"Well I don't think the boys would like it if ya got special treatment, Greenbean." He replied with a smirk.

A blush rose on Aria's face as she quickly tried to say that's not what she meant.

"No! I mean, I ah- that's not what I meant, I didn't think that—" She stopped short when Newt let out a suppressed chuckle.

"I'm just messin with ya'," he told her and she couldn't seem to gather any words.

Eyes were flicking not so discretely up to the pair at the front of the room.

Newt flashed Aria one last smirk before spinning around

"Make way for the lady, gentlemen, wouldn't want her withering away in this line."

A switch flicked in her head.

This boy was something else.

"Newt-" she tried to hiss, but the line already parted as the boys made way for her to make her way to the front and the food.

Newt smiled at her proudly and gestured for her to walk. He gave a quick little bow as she passed him, ignoring her accusing glare.

"Sorry- um, thank you." She whispered as she hurried passed the boy's faces. Some smiled at her and some stared, there were even a few annoyed faces.

Aria reached the counter where another boy was. He had large shoulders and hairy arms. His skin was a bit darker too and Aria could see that his face was usually in a frown, but as of the moment, he was more wide eyed and shocked.

Aria offered a small smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. The more he stared the more she could feel other eyes turn to her.

 _So many eyes today._

She thought.

Once more she could feel the thumping in her head coming back.

The boy seemed to snap himself out of his daze and gave her a lazy smile.

"Name's Frypan, Greenie." He said handing her bowl of tomato soup and a piece of bread.

Aria took it and picked up a plastic cup of water that was on the side. They boy slipped a spoon into her soup.

"Thanks," she said before turning around and looking back out at the lunchroom. As she turned around the boys seemed to go back to their conversation, all of them thinking the same thing.

Where was she going to sit?

 _Where am I going to sit?_

Of course all of the tables seemed to have boys at them, leaned over their bowls and laughing.

Aria realized how surprised she was at the scene.

They all seemed to be friends.

They seemed to get along in some kind of brotherhood.

The feeling of being unwelcome washed over her.

She was the _only_ girl in good knows how many boys. Her original count had been around 30 or 40, but now she could see them properly, it was more like 50 or 60.

Her grip on her cup and bowl tightened. Newt wasn't there anymore.

She recognized a few faces from her scene in front of the box, but obviously she couldn't just walk up to them and sit down.

Taking a deep breath she started forward, not entirely sure where she was planning on sitting. Spotting an empty table in the back of the room that seemed to be run down and slightly crooked Aria headed towards it. She was almost there when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm.

She jumped backwards yanking herself from the person and spilling her water a little.

"Whoa there, Greanbean," Her breathing steadied when she saw that it was Theo. He was laughing at her reddening cheeks. His friends all smiling at her. "We just wanted to know if you wanted to sit with us." He said with a smirk and she had to fight the relief at seeing his face.

"Ah- sure…" she said and Theo turned and gestured for his friends to move down a little.

Aria sat down next to him and placed her hands in her lap. She smiled at the boy across from her. His hair was a firey red and his pale skin was striking.

"I'm Aria," she said and they all smiled

"Yeah we know." He said with a chuckle and Aria twisted her fingers together.

She was sweating.

She didn't know what to say with them looking at her.

"You're welcome." Theo suddenly said causing Aria to look at him strangely. "Saved you from sitting back there at the Greenie table." He said jerking his thumb at the rundown table.

 _Greenie table?_

Red Hair spoke up,

"It's the table where the newest newbie sits till he's accepted or makes friends." Red Hair explained. Aria nodded.

She didn't like the sound of that though. It sounded harsh for whoever was new.

They start a strange new life with no memories from their past and they have to sit alone till they are 'accepted'.

"S'you're welcome." Theo repeated and Aria narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah- I guess I should thank you, Greenie." She said. Theo grinned

"You can't call me that." He said with a slight chuckle and Aria shrugged.

"I can call you whatever I want." She said reaching for her piece of bread and dipping it in her soup.

"It doesn't make sense though. I'm _not_ a Greenie."

"Well until I understand what the hell you guys are talking about- you are Greenie to me." All the boys at the table laughed at her naivety of their words.

"Still don't know what _klunk_ means do ya?"

"Or shank?"

"Shuck face?

"Slinthead?"

Aria blinked as they all leaned forward slightly speaking gibberish.

They were smiling and there was a taunting tone in their voices.

Then they stopped and waited for to reply. Her mouth opened but then shut silently like a fish. The need to say something clever was in her mind, but she didn't know what. Beside her Theo laughed.

"You'll pick it up, Greenie. Not that I can see you say'in those words anyway." He smirked at her.

"Why? I can say those things…" she paused "Shuck."

Theo laughed

"Hear that shanks? Say it again, Greenie- it's funny." Aria's cheeks flared up.

What did it mean? Was she saying it wrong? They all looked at her expectantly.

"Yeah well it's not my fault you all went retarded in the box." She finally said

"Whoa- Greenie's got sass. Last thing we need with Minho around." Theo said and the other boys nodded going back to their food and trying to not watch Aria slurping up her own.

She hadn't realized how hungry she was and was suddenly drinking it up quickly, using the bread to mop up the bowl when she was done.

"Who's Minho?" she asked recalling how Alby made a similar comment earlier.

Theo's eyes widened,

"You ain't met Minho yet?" he asked before shaking his head "Course ya ain't he's in the shuck Maze… I forgot. Minho: Keeper of the Runners, Royal Pain in the ass."

"Whose a pain in the arse?" Newt asked causing the others to look towards him.

"Minho." Theo answered and Newt chuckled

"Ah- should've guessed." He said and then his gaze flicked down to Aria who smiled at him "Happy to see me eh, Greenie?" he asked quirking an eyebrow to go along with his smirk.

Smile dropped.

"No." She said turning away from him and to her empty bowl.

"Tough, I'm coming to steal ya away." He said and Aria frowned

"For what?"

"Alby wanted me to give ya your stuff that came up with ya."

At that she jumped up excitedly and clapped her hands together.

"Really? Oh yes!" The boys at the table exchanged confused looks while Newt just stared at her amusedly. Her small body was hoping from one foot to the other and her grin was so contagious. "I bet they gave me a brush and nail clippers and tampons and bras! Oh! Newt! Lets go now, right now, come on." She suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand dragging him away from the lunchroom and out into the rest of the Homestead. All eyes trained on their backs.

"Wait so where are we going?" she asked realizing she didn't know where to lead them.

Newt laughed and pointed towards the stairs, which she had descended earlier.

"We should get this done quickly, don't want you missing the doors closing."

Aria's brows furred together in confusion, but then suddenly she knew what he meant.

The walls were going to _move._

 **A/N- THERE IS CHAPTER TWO!**

 **I WAS SO OVERWHELMED WITH YOUR SUPPORT! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

 **I JUST WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU GUYS WANT NEWT/ARIA/THOMAS OR NEWT/ARIA/MINHO. I CAN'T DECIED!**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **DUTCHANGLE1979- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING MY FIRST REVIEWER! I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT!**

 **ZOEY24- YOUR REVIEW WAS AMAZING! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS TO GET TO KNOW ARIA! SHE IS BASICALLY ME WITH HER ON AND OFF SASS HAHA I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS SECOND CHAPTER! XD**

 **ABBY- THANKS FOR READING GIRL! I HOPE YOU LIKED IT EVEN THOUGH YOU DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND IT! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!**

 **EATSLEEPREADWRITEREPEAT- AH! YAY! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I HOPE I AM DOING NEWT JUSTICE! ALTHOUGH HE'S PERFECT NO MATTER WHAT SOO ;) NOW YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOKS THOUGH!**

 **BOOKRAIN- HAHA SAME! I WISH I COULD SAY I WOULD BE ABLE TO HOLD IT TOGETHER, BUT… NOPE! THAT MEANS SO MUCH! THE BOOKS ARE SO AWESOME AND I REALLY WANTED THIS TO… FLOW (THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT WORD BUT WHATEVER HAHA) WITH IT. I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER TOO!**

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 **CAT- THANK YOU! SORRY IF THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS MOVE A LITTLE SLOW, BUT TIME WILL PICK UP PACE DON'T WORRY :)**

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 **HOPE YOU HAVE A BLOODY AMAZING WEEKEND!**


	3. Holy Shuck Face

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE MAZE RUNNER**

 **Holy Shuck Face**

Newt pushed the door open and headed in, Aria close on his heels. Her eyes scanned the room.

There was a hammock in one corner of the room with a single pillow resting on it. The white cover had faded and was now slightly grey. There was a desk on the wall to her right, a small window above it allowed light to flow through and rest on the worn wooden surface. On the opposite wall were a couple of boxes and sheets; she couldn't really tell what was in them.

She realized this wasn't the room she had woken up in.

"Whose room is this?" she asked and turning around to look at Newt.

"It's- ah its mine at the moment," he said scratching his neck awkwardly.

Aria nodded.

"And where did I wake up earlier?" she asked. Newt frowned for a moment before realizing what she talking about.

"That was Jeff's room. He's one of the Med-jacks," Newt paused watching her face to see if she understood what that was. When she didn't show any signs of confusion he figured Alby had covered it on the tour. "I took you there so you could be kept under watch. Didn't want to pu' you where the regular patients go because… well there were Gladers in there and you needed quiet." Aria nodded again.

There was a silence between them for a minute as Aria processed it. She glanced at the hammock and then back at Newt.

He said this was his room.

She felt a blush forming on cheeks and hoped the blonde boy would think it was from the heat and not the thoughts going through her head.

Why was she even embarrassed? It was a perfectly logical question… and she was about to ask it.

"So…." She paused to clear her throat "So a-am I staying with you?" she asked and Newt smirked.

Aria's eyes narrowed at him and her lips dipped into a frown.

 _It was a perfectly logical question_. She snapped in her head.

Her stuff was apparently in here and he had said this was his room.

"Well Greenie-"

" _Aria_." She corrected him in a slightly clipped tone.

She was once again aware of the fact that her vice was deeper than she would have expected. After having food and water she thought it would have softened a little, but it hadn't changed much.

She didn't mind though. It gave an extra bite to her remarks and the impression she wasn't weak. She could use that sort of thing considering she was short. She reckoned she couldn't be taller than 5'3.

"Aria." Newt said, there was a familiar spark of mischief in his warm brown eyes as he watched her. She sucked in a sharp breath and pressed her lips together. "Would you like to stay with me?" he asked with a smirk.

"No! Of course not- that's not- that's not what I was asking…" Aria stumbled over her words as she blushed. When Newt started chuckling she shut her mouth and narrowed her eyes.

"Relax I was just messing with ya. Anyway, Greenie, really I don't know… we're having a Gathering to… see what to do with ya really." He chuckled to himself as Aria rolled her eyes at him returning back to calling her greenie. "Ain't every day we get a bloody girl greenie after all."

Aria didn't smile.

She didn't think it was funny. She didn't see how it was really much different than a boy coming up in the box.

"Have there really been no other girls? Even in the past?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"No."

"What's a gathering?"

"It's when all the Keepers get together for a private meeting, usually to discuss problems in the Glade."

It seemed these boys had formed a good system here.

The Glade was certainly bigger than Aria originally thought; she figured that out during the tour.

There was silence again.

"You going to open your crate or what?" Newt's questions pulled Aria from her thoughts and she turned back to look at the room.

What caught her attention this time though was the obviously new container sat in the middle. It had red letters stamped on top.

She grinned and headed towards it.

She read the letters printed in bold font: _WICKED_

She took in a deep breath. Her heart seemed to pause in her chest.

" _Always remember Arianta, WICKED is good." She nodded as the women squeezed her shoulders, a small, tender smile stretched onto her familiar face "You can do this, we're counting on you." She felt herself nod and the image grew blurry in those few moments. She could feel her own rapidly beating heart and something like adrenaline coursing through her veins._

 _Everything behind the woman's head was undefined, white light._

" _I won't let you down."_

" _I know you won't dear, just remember WICKED is good."_

Aria's face had grown pale during her flashback. A memory, she had remembered something. Was that normal?

She tried to grab for it again, to picture the woman's face, but it was slipping away like sand through her fingers. She could feel the panic prickling at the back of her throat again.

She had remembered something and was loosing it already. She reached out again and pulled in her mind.

 _WICKED is good._

"Wicked…" she whispered and Newt took a step forward.

"You okay?" he asked her and she almost jumped at the sound of his voice.

There was something… something about the letters. She could feel something niggling at the back of her mind. From deep in the black hole.

A memory had been triggered from the letters; perhaps other things would trigger other memories.

She glanced at Newt, his eyebrows were pinched with concern and his stance told her he was on guard, wary of her clearly distraught expression.

She cleared her face, trying to get color back in her cheeks

"Yeah," she quipped and shook her head "I mean yeah, I'm fine." she smiled at him.

The brightest smile she could muster and Newt paused to stare. He was unsure about whether to drop the topic of her strange moment, but the smile seemed to distract him.

He couldn't remember if he had ever met a girl before. Surly he had, it was improbably to say that he hadn't, but the point was, that he couldn't remember any other girl. The Gladers often ignored the thought of girls, the absence of them in the Glade was always felt, but with no particular girls to miss or imagine the problem had always been on the side. The boys accepted that every greenie was a boy. It was fact and simple and routine by now.

Aria had changed all that.

Now, Newt didn't know what those shuck Creators were up to.

Sending Aria into a Maze full of boys was… stupid, to say the least.

They were all horny teenage boys who hadn't been with a girl in almost two years and couldn't even remember if they ever had.

He studied the one in front of him. Her hair was blonde, blonder than any hair he had ever seen, bordering on almost white in some places. Her skin smooth and without blemishes, Light brown eyebrows and eyelashes framed her crystal blue eyes. She was short; Newt reckoned around 5'2 and perfectly proportioned with her curvy little figure, generous bust and (from what he could see) toned legs.

No, indeed he did not think it smart to have her in the Glade.

Which was why he was going to ask Alby to let her stay in his room at the Gathering and not have her sleeping outside with all the others.

All for her own safely of course.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and gestured to the box.

"Well this is what came up, you're lucky, not every Greenie gets their own box."

Aria smiled and it hit him just as hard as the last one.

"Guess I'm special then." She said and Newt didn't voice his affirmation of that statement as she dropped to her knees and placed her hands on either side of the lid. She pulled and it popped off easily.

Newt leaned forward slightly, peering over her should, and curious as to what was inside.

Aria's eyes lit up immediately.

"Oh!" she gasped. Clothes. There were clothes. Clean clothes. She reached down and pulled out another pare of pants that cut off mid calf, not exactly the most flattering length or shape with the boxy structure to them. They were a shade of army green. She pursed her lips slightly but then shrugged. Clean clothes were clean clothes. She peered in again and pulled out a couple of t-shirts a creamy white one and muddy brown.

Wow whoever was in charge of putting this crate together didn't have a very good sense of style. Following the shirts were a single pare of kaki colored shorts and a tank top the same color as the first set of pants.

Newt frowned so far nothing interesting had been in the box.

Aria's face brightened again and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bras- thank god. A sports one too." She whispered to herself.

Turned out she had everything she needed in the box, underwear, a brush and shoes. At the bottom she spotted a smaller white and yellow box. She reached down and pulled it up. There wasn't much written on it besides the same six letterers that were on the larger crate: _WICKED_. She flipped it over and read the section that said dosage.

 _Take one table per month to prevent menstrual cycle._

Aria grinned and Newt tried to read what it said over her shoulder.

"What's that?" he asked, his eyebrows furred slightly.

Aria laughed.

The sound was light and airy and Newt found himself tearing his eyes away from the box just to watch.

"What's so funny?" he asked, a small smile of his own working it's way onto his face. "Looks like medicine to me. Should give it to the Medjacks so the rest of the Gladers can use 'em." He said.

Aria shook her head slightly.

"No, Newt." She said "I don't think the others would have any use for these." She said. Her eyes shinning with amusement at the puzzled look on Newts face.

She would have never guessed she would be finding any situation so funny given the situation she was in, but Aria couldn't not see the humor right now.

"Unless… of course you somehow developed a way to have children without us girls around." She said, but Newt only seemed more confused by her response. She rolled her eyes in a playfully exasperated manner before clarifying for the boy "It's for my period, Newt. Now I don't remember much, but last time I checked boys didn't have a _menstrual cycle_."

Newt's eyes widened comically and a blush burned the top of his ears and up his neck.

Aria couldn't help but think it was a little cute.

"Oh." Was all he managed to say in response.

Aria grinned at him.

He stood up straight from where he had been leaning over her shoulder and tried to not seem so flustered. He cleared his throat and stared at the side of the box to avoid her entertained smile.

"You should probably just get out of here. Gotta' lock this place up so we can get the gathering going."

Aria sobered her expression.

"Lock it up?"

"Clear out the Homestead so we can have our meeting." He clarified.

Aria placed her things back into the box and closed it.

* * *

The two had barely stepped foot outside the Homestead when a chubby little boy came stumbling towards them, his smile wide and cheeks flushed from his sprit.

Aria almost tripped off the front steps with an effort not to knock into him.

Newt reached out and steadied her, his hand cupping her elbow.

Aria snapped her head in his direction, the slightly accelerated beat of her heart in her ears.

"Thanks," she whispered and he nodded, slowly letting go of her a smirk making its way onto his face as she eased her arm back to her side an wary look in her eyes.

Aria turned her attention onto the little boy who was staring at her, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed.

He was, much like all the other Gladers, in awe of the girl greenie.

It was exciting. He was sure he was lucky, having had her turn up so early in his stay in the Glade. Her blue eyes were watching him with mild amusement and curiosity, but he couldn't seem to focus or remove the wild grin from his face.

"Oi, Chuck." Newt snapped and the kid jumped

"Yeah?"

"What you want?" the British boy snapped, trying in vein to get Chuck's attention.

"Oh, ah Alby said I should look after the greenie while you all have the- ah- the gathering." He grinned even wider at Aria. So wide she was worried his face would split in half. "That means you can hang with me, Greenie!" his enthusiasm like a bubble around him.

Aria raised her eyebrows. The kid was obviously no older than 12 or 13 years old.

Definitely on the younger side of the boys here.

He had an unruly mop of brown curls on his head and his cheeks seemed to have a natural ruddy complexion, his cheeks were plump little apples on his face with his smile stretched so wide. His wide, bright brown eyes stared up at her, which also meant he was barely five foot.

Overall the boy seemed harmless and perhaps a bit-endearing if you could put up with the optimistic vibe he gave off and his chatty nature, which of course most of the boys could not.

Aria bit her lip as she glanced at Newt, who was clearly slightly irritated by Chuck and then smiled brightly down at the young boy.

"That would be great, thank you." She said and Chuck giggled slightly at her.

"Alright well, get going Greenie, make she don't get into any trouble." With one last look Newt turned around and headed back into the Homestead leaving Aria alone with Chuck.

There were a few awkward minutes where Chuck simply gazed up at Aria in admiration and Aria began to fidget, bunching the hem of her shirt into her hands and then dropping it, bunching and dropping, bunching and dropping.

"Chuck?" she prompted, feeling other eyes on them now. She didn't want to be swarmed by teenage boys right now. Having Alby around for the tour definitely deterred people approaching her, even Newt seemed to prevent such things, but Chuck was definitely not going to be helpful.

She would even be grateful for Theo if he were anywhere is sight.

"Huh? Oh yeah!" he took her hand in his and began tugging her out into the Glade.

She was about to ask him how old he was when he beat her to it.

"You know everyone is talking about? The only topic of conversation! When the siren went off today –shuck thing scared me a bit- everyone gathered around, but you should've seen their faces, shocked! I couldn't really see all that well from where I was stood- us younger kids always get shoved to the back of the crowds- not really fair since we're mainly the shortest, but the older boys don't care. I was excited anyway for today because it meant that I wasn't the newbie anymore, but whoa! When you shucking popped up it was crazy!" so Chuck was a prater.

Aria smiled as she tried to take in everything he said and decide what to respond to.

His use of the strange Glader-words sounded foreign on his tongue and there was one other thing that she picked up on.

"You were the newbie before me?" she asked and Chuck nodded still leading her somewhere.

"Yup! Came up same time as you, but last month. Its why Alby said I could babysit you during the gathering!"

Aria frowned slightly… babysit? Aria didn't think this twelve year old was exactly babysitting her she could look after herself.

"I was nervous when he came up to me, thought I was in trouble or something. Alby has that effect on people, why he's the leader an' all. Newt is second though and he's real easy to talk to. Big people person, if ya don't like Newt you're nuts. Unless you're Gally then you're just… Gally."

Gally?

Yes Aria had heard that name floating around. Keeper of the Builders and renowned _jackass_.

Or so she had heard.

Aria wasn't one to judge before she met you, or at least she didn't feel like she was like that, who knows what she was like when she had her memories.

Looking up at the sky, Aria could see that the sun was setting and it was getting darker outside and wondered what time it was.

"Ah! Here we are, come on sit!"

Aria felt a tug on her hand and looked down to see that Chuck had plopped down onto the grass.

She hesitantly settled down next to him, curious as to why he had dragged her here.

There weren't any other Gladers around.

"Um, Chuck what's the purpose of us sitting here?" she asked and Chuck grinned.

"Well, Alby told me to take you to see the doors." He replied gesturing to their right.

Aria looked in the direction of his hand her eyes widened. They were sat in front of one of the huge opening in the walls.

Her gaze drifted up the ivy covered walls and the deeper into the corridor. It seemed to stretch on and on until it reached a dead end, but if she cocked her head to the side she could see other holes in the wall, which must lead into different sections of the Maze.

Looking out there sent a chill down her spine.

Apparently the holes in the walls were going to close up for the night.

"A-are they going to close soon?" she asked not able to pull her eyes away from the entrance, or exit, of the Glade.

"Yup, not gonna lie, it's a bit scary to watch at first. Real loud too so ya might want to over your ears when it happens. Oh! Look there's Ben, looks like the Runners are coming back then. Good that too cause doors should be closing in about a twenty minutes." Aria looked towards the door opposite the one they were next just as a boy came sprinting into the Glade.

The site was almost breath taking too. The boy stopped after he was a couple dozen feet into the Glade and then came to a stop, bending over and clutching his knees with his hands, trying to catch his breath.

He was dressed in black pants a green shirt and was wearing a black backpack.

Then suddenly he stood up straight and ran right towards a little hutch and disappeared inside.

A Runner.

She had seen a Runner.

That boy had… he had been out in the Maze.

And where had he…

"That's the Map Room. Runners go straight there after they come back and map their section of the maze from memory."

"They're out there all day?"

"Yup. Running all day, can ya imagine? I couldn't do that it my life depended on it." Chuck said, a thoughtful expression taking over his face for the first time since Aria met him. He was looking at the shed where the boy, Ben, had run into.

Aria had to admit she agreed with him though.

Running all day in that creepy place did not sound fun at all.

Aria couldn't comprehend how that boy had the energy to crawl let alone run to the Map Room after a day like that.

One by one the two watched as more and more boys came sprinting into the Maze from all directions, barely stopping for a couple seconds before heading off to the Map Room.

Each time she saw one come out of the Maze, Aria was amazed, for some reason she felt in awe of them.

Aria watched in wonder as she spotted another boy sprinting down the corridor of the Maze that lead to the door closest to her and Chuck.

The boy was faster than she had ever thought possible, he was dressed much like the other Runners she had seen: black pants, black backpack, and sweaty t-shirt.

His was grey.

She stood up from where she was on the grass and started heading towards the door. Chuck called her name and tumbled after her, but the boy got to the Glade before Chuck got to the greenie.

The boy slowed down to a light jog, but didn't stop on his way to the Map Room.

At least, he didn't stop till Aria jumped in front of him and cheerily said; "Hello."

"Holy- shuck face!" the Asian boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he not only stopped running, but also stumbled backwards.

Yes, the Keeper of the Runners _stumbled_.

Aria pursed her lips at that, sure she had only been here a few hours, but she had gathered that most of the words she wasn't familiar with in the glade were not very nice words.

"Excuse me, but my face is not _shuck-y_." she told him as he stared at her wide eyed and flabbergasted.

"I- uh…" Aria narrowed her icy blue eyes and put a hand on her hip. She wasn't entirely sure why she had approached this particular Runner, and looking at something brought a niggling sensation in the back of her head. It was the same feeling she got when she had her flashback earlier…

Was she going to get another one? Eagerly he scanned him from head to toe as he did the same.

"What?" she asked, unsure as to what he was saying.

"I must have run harder than I thought- shucking seeing things." The boy said take a step forward this time, closer to the platinum haired girl in front of him.

Girl.

 _There was a shuck girl stood in front of him._

The boy swallowed hard and then said "You're a- a _girl_."

Aria couldn't help but smile at that. It was another genuine smile that she didn't realize quite how brilliant it was.

"Bingo Einstein, wasn't sure you were going to get there." At that the boy's shocked face relaxed into a baffled and amused expression.

Chuck who had been watching the two's brief exchange suddenly came forward; bouncing on next to Aria he grinned brightly at the boy.

"Hey Minho!" he greeted cheerily and the Asian boy frowned at him

"Greenie?" he asked and Chuck shook his head.

"Nope! Not anymore, this is Aria, she came up in the Box today. She's the new greenie." He explained and Minho's eyes snapped back towards Aria whose smile was slightly more timid this time around and a small wave.

"New Greenie, eh?" he asked smirking.

"Its Aria." She clarified _"Aria._ Not that anyone here bothers to use it." She mumbled more herself, but the other two boys understood.

"Alby actually wanted me to wait for you, tell ya there's a gathering going on and your needed as soon as you're done in the Map Room."

"Gathering?" Minho asked, his eyes not leaving Aria's, his smirk turning into a true smile. "For what?"

"For me? Apparently you lot have never seen a girl before and World War Five is happening."

"You're sarcasm is truly inspiring sweet cheeks," Minho teased and Aria's eyes widened.

"Sweet cheeks! Who you calling sweet cheeks? I'll—wait. Did you say your name was Minho?" she asked raising one, pale eyebrow as the runner straightened his poster to his full height. He looked down on the small girl, but she kept her gaze fierce even with his proud and slightly arrogant smile.

"Yes, I'm Minho, Keeper of the Runners." He said proudly, but was snapped out of it when Aria scoffed and turned to Chuck.

"That explains it then. Royal pain in the ass, bit of an understatement." She turned back to Minho with a smile. "I'll have to listen to Theo more often. Anyway wouldn't want to hold you up any longer. Best be on your way."

"Theo? Are you talking about that kid who's dying to get a Keeper position?"

"I don't know, am I?" Aria really wasn't sure whether she and Minho were talking about the same Theo. Minho opened his mouth to reply when a loud bang sounded throughout the Glade, being so close to the Doors, the ground shook under the three glader's feet.

A great grinding noise caused Aria to freeze.

Slowly she looked behind Minho and up at the Door he had just entered through and watched it close.

"Oh my god." She whispered once the Glade had stopped shaking. "That happens everyday? My teeth felt like they were chattering right outa my head!" she snapped, Minho and Chuck laughed.

"Calm yourself sweet cheeks, its just cause we're so close to the Doors. You'll get used to the noise too."

"Sure I will." Aria started backing up and out of Minho's way so he could continue on his way to the Map Room. "What I'm really looking forward to is a good nights sleep." She muttered to herself as she turned away from the arrogant runner.

 **A/N- THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING! I'M SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE, BUT ITS OVER THE BREAK AND I THOUGHT WHY NOT!**

 **I HOPE YOU ALL ARE HAVING A GOOD HOLIDAY! I RECEIVED A SIGNED COPY OF** _ **THE FEVER CODE**_ **! AHHHHHHH! IT'S SO EXCITING!**

 **PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS CHAPTER AND ARIA SO FAR. I'M TRYING TO DEVELOP HER A BIT.**

 **LAST CHAPTER I ASKED WHICH PARINGS YOU ALL WOULD MOST LIKE TO SEE.**

 **MIHNO x ARIA x NEWT**

 **THOMAS x ARIA x NEWT**

 **SOME PEOPLE ASKED FOR ALL FOUR OF THEM! ITS ALL VERY EXCITING AND I STILL AM NOT QUITE SURE WHAT I'LL DO SO FEEL FREE TO COMMENT WHAT YOU'D LIKE IN YOUR REVIEW!**

 **LOVE YOU ALL!**


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